2. Christmas Food Boxes

 

The Cathedral of the Rockies (I promise, not all of these are going to involve church) does the Christmas Food Boxes every year. The Boise School District partners with the Cathedral to help some families that may be struggling. These families are identified by teachers, school counselors, and school social workers. The day I went to go pick out a family and a box to fill with groceries, they had it all nicely laid out by zip code. I'm sure they do this for people who want to help someone in their neighborhood or maybe don't have the best transportation to travel far. I chose a family of four that has a child in the Frank Church High School because that is the area's alternative high school (I sadly turned down an internship there this year), so I imagine that there is some added stress and stigma involved.

The process was easy. I called the number for the family and verified address, number of household members, and inquired about any food allergies. I was going to involve my girls in this process and have them help pick out and deliver the groceries, but I've been feeling overwhelmed by my to do list. My therapist told me that it is okay to not involve my girls in this process because I involve them in so many other aspects of generosity, and that I should order the groceries through an app and pick them up so it was less stress. It was genius!

Below is the list of food given to us as a starting point in creating the Christmas Food Box. I love that they take cultural considerations into dietary restrictions. So progressive!

Below is the letter from the pastor that we included in the Christmas Food Box. I'll be honest, I don't like churches that give out things with the caveat of joining a service. I think that is sneaky and takes away a person's right to self-determination. Because of this, I was skeptical of the letter we were to include. However, it just invites them to join if they wish so I was okay with that. When I was working with families experiencing homelessness in the past, we had a few churches in that area that would offer a free, hot meal...IF they sat through a service or talked to a pastor. That really rubs me the wrong way. We shouldn't be forcing religion on people. Faith is deeply personal to everyone. The whole point is to do these acts of service with nothing in return--just out of the goodness of your heart. P.S. I love that Pastor Duane lists his pronouns! Again, so progressive and if you are wondering why that matters, it shows allyship with those whose pronouns get misinterpreted by the general public. It's important!

To respect the family's right to privacy, I will not be sharing anymore about them other than to say they were appreciative. Some acts of kindness can be hours of volunteering and some can be spending a little bit of money. This was a mix of the two. If you don't have a lot of time but you have some extra cash, there are ways to put those dollars to good use. If you don't have any money to give but you have a bit of extra time, there are places that would love to put you to work. If you can't do either, I get it. I see you. The biggest act of kindness anyone can do, is to make eye contact with people and smile. SEE them.